Questionnaires for screening the health of athletes. Systematic review.



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Abstract

Background. A sustainedmismatchbetween energy consumption and energyexpenditureonexercisecanleadtolowenergyavailability(LEA),poorhealthandperformance,characteristicofRelativeEnergy Deficiency inSports(RED-S).Questionnairescanbe an effectivetoolfortimelyidentification of symptomsand/orriskfactors of LEA/RED-S. The purpose of thisstudy is to conduct a systematicreview of questionnairesusedordevelopedtomeasure the risk of RED-S in athletes.

Methods.The presentedreview was conductedinaccordancewith the methodologicalrecommendations of the PreferredReportingItemsforSystematicreviewsandMeta-Analyses extensionforscopingreviews(PRISMA-ScR).TheelectronicliteraturedatabasesPubMed,GoogleScholar,Embase,Scopus,CINAHL,MedlineOvidand SPORTDiscus weresearchedfromJanuary2010toFebruary2025.Thereviewincludedarticlescontainingquestionson the assessment of reproductivehealthandmanifestations of RED-S.

Results.Thereviewincluded29studies.10uniquequestionnaireswereidentifiedtoathletes at risk of energydeficiency.Ninequestionnairesunderwent a validationprocedure,andthreequestionnairesincludedquestionsrelatedonlyto the screening of eatingdisorders. The mostwidelyusedquestionnaireswere the questionnaireonlowenergyavailability in women(LEAF-Q)and the questionnaireonEatingdisorders(EDE-Q).

Conclusion. Questionnaires can be effective for detecting deliberate energy restriction, early detection of gynecological pathology and the risk of developing energy deficiency in athletes. Questionnaires are screening tools, but not diagnostic methods for RED-S.

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About the authors

Anastasiia Degteva

FSBEI НЕ «I. I. Mechnikov Northwestern State Medical University» Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia

Author for correspondence.
Email: a.degteva@fomin-clinic.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0006-0618-6346

postgraduate of the department physical therapy and sports medicine

Russian Federation, 195067, Russia, Saint-Petersburg, Piskarevsky Prospect 47.

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СМИ зарегистрировано Федеральной службой по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций (Роскомнадзор).
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